The National Hurricane Center´s latest report at 07.00 am local time (14.00 CET), was that Hurricane Otto was moving towards the Nicaraguan coast with windspeeds up to 165 km per hour. At time of publishing there was no information on whether the hurricane was becoming more intense in the hours before reaching land. As much 30-40 cm of rain could fall in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. There are also warnings of rising sea levels, as much as 120-180 cm above normal tide levels in areas. The hurricane was expected to make landfall at around 16.00 CET Thursday. A pineapple producer from Costa Rica said on Wednesday evening that there is indeed a code red for the whole Nothern part of Costa Rica. "People have been evacuated from the coastal areas. At that point they were expecting the hurricane to hit land at 6pm Wednesday local time, however this was not the case." He explains that the country is checking all regions, where which rivers may burst their banks and trees could which are a potential danger to nearby buildings were cut down yesterday. The producer also explained that all staff have been told to stay at home. He goes on to say that it's just a case of waiting to see what the effect will be in the short and long term. "Floods would definitely have an impact on our pineapple production." The storm has already cost the lives of 7 people in Panama, according to information received last night (European time). The producer explained that because of the quick reaction and organisation, no people have been injured yet in Costa Rica. However, he did say the worst part still had to come. Source - http://www.freshplaza.com